Detroit Lions Training Camp: Week 2 Stock Report

Last week's stock report was overwhelmingly positive for the big guns on offense, but things shifted the second week of the Detroit Lions training camp.

It's mostly because the top of the roster is set. People want to see chemistry and solid play from the starters over the next few weeks, yet their play won't change any snap counts this year.

Instead, it's all about the guys fighting for spots or young names getting their first shine of 2015. Let's take a spin around Allen Park and give a market report of those really fighting to move up the depth chart.

It's OK. I completely understand if you want to skip to the next slide after reading the title.

Jeremy Ross' 15 minutes came and went with Lions fans a month or so after the snow game in Philly. Aside from one more catch in 2014 and his score against the Jets, it's been a misery of mistakes and fumbles.

But there is no fan vote for roster spots.

Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com noted: "the job appears to belong to incumbent Jeremy Ross for now." The first unofficial depth chart had Ross on top of both the kick- and punt-returner categories, with Golden Tate backing him up on punts.

None of that means much right now, but it is interesting that Tate—who is highly unlikely to field any punts during the regular season—is listed as second string.

Plus, two of the players who will actually vie for that spot, Ryan Broyles or T.J. Jones, aren't mentioned until the third slot. At a minimum, Ross is at least as likely as not (Roger Goodell taught me how that works) to keep his job. That's a major step forward for him.

Head coach Jim Caldwell has been defensive end Larry Webster's hype man since last December, telling Justin Rogers of Mlive Media Group, "[Webster] has made leaps and bounds in terms of strides in his ability to rush the passer."

And if you've ever seen Caldwell coach, you know the veteran doesn't get excited. About anything.

Ever.

So that's why it's been such a surprise that Webster hasn't been able to turn a single head this preseason. In fact, he's only had one highlight this camp, which Pride of Detroit's Alex Reno described thusly: "Larry Webster has been invisible all camp, but did have a nice rep where he beat Lucas fairly easily to get to Moore."

When it comes to hopeful pass-rushers, no news is bad news.

The Lions need another outside threat to help take the pressure of Ezekiel Ansah. It's by no means over for Webster. But it hasn't been a hot start after receiving some offseason hype, and therefore his stock is down.

Despite the Lions' need for an outside rush, they might not need Larry Webster to emerge right away. Devin Taylor is the presumptive backup to Jason Jones and possible starter if the latter doesn't come off the PUP list before the season starts.

And he's playing like it.

Twitter is filled with instances of Taylor schooling an offensive tackle for a sack, like this one from Real GM's Jeff Risdon detailing Corey Lucas' funeral. Or this one from Alex Reno in which Taylor torched Michael Williams.

Kyle Meinke of MLive Media Group summed it all up when he Tweeted, "[h]aving said that, Devin Taylor has been impressive with his pass rush moves[.]" Or maybe teammate Darryl Tapp gave the best description to Justin Rogers of MLive Media Group when he said, "[Taylor] has so much freaking potential" that he could be as good as Ziggy Ansah.

Taylor inspired hope his rookie season, but that last bit of praise is probably a proud teammate getting a little too jubilant. Regardless, it's good to see a positive buzz for Taylor after his quarterback pressures dropped from 21 in 2013 to 11 last year, per Pro Football Focus.

There was little to no wiggle room for Ryan Broyles coming into this preseason. He needed to show up healthy and explosive to make a team that used him in just five games last season.

That's not what's happened so far.

Aside from his frugal lifestyle, things have been quiet on the Broyles front other than a big hit he took from rookie safety Isaiah Johnson. Neither of these stories will help him make the team.

Broyles has missed the last two practices going into Wednesday's pregame session, creating doubt about his availability for the first game despite his insistence that he'll play.

With plenty of competition for the bottom of the receiving depth chart, Broyles has to come out on fire over the next few weeks. Otherwise, it wouldn't be surprising to see him dismissed in the cut down to 75 guys. His durability would become too much of a liability if he can't bounce back quickly.

We're not going out on a sour note. It's the preseason. There's zero reason for doom and gloom, especially for a team with as much talent as the Lions.

A bright spot this past week has been fifth-round fullback Michael Burton. The concern about him coming out of college was if he could handle the physical aspect of the NFL, but as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press describes, he looks more than capable:

In his first match-up with Tulloch, who's as tough to block as anyone in the drill, Burton stonewalled the middle linebacker, mirroring his movement on a spin move. Burton split his two reps against Levy, stonewalling the outside linebacker in their first meeting before Levy beat him on the rematch.

Jeff Risdon lent even more legitimacy to the above, Tweeting that the fullback battle "hasn't been a close competition and that's no knock on [Emil] Igwenagu either[.]"

The running game is supposed to trend more toward power this season. It's likely Burton could see more than Jed Collins' 269 snaps last season, so his fast start should help revive a ground game in desperate need of a resurrection.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.